Dragons are the most powerful asset a conqueror in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire can have, but Daenerys Targaryen’s Drogon isn’t the best.

The dragons in Game of Thrones were monumentally powerful, and among them, it seemed like Daenerys Targaryen’s Drogon was the biggest and baddest there was. But the history of A Song of Ice and Fire is clear that there is one dragon that’s even more powerful. Drogon’s accomplishments can’t hold a candle to those of Balerion the Black Dread.

As Aegon I’s mount that aided him in conquering and maintaining Westeros to establish the rule of the first Targaryens, there is plenty that Balerion did that trumps anything Drogon came close to. Some even theorized that Drogon was a reincarnation of Balerion.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on January 3, 2024: House of the Dragon Season 2 is finally set to premiere in the summer of 2024, giving audiences another chance to delve into the history of House Targaryen and their mighty dragons. While many fans of the franchise may immediately think of Drogon as the most powerful dragon in either series, there is another that puts his mighty deeds to shame.

Balerion Is the Mightiest Dragon in Game of Thrones

Balerion is the biggest dragon in the history of Westeros.
Balerion’s only known riders were King Aegon I, King Maegor I, Princess Aerea, and Prince Viserys.
Balerion eventually died at over two hundred years of age during the reign of King Jaehaerys Targaryen.

It’s easy to see why Drogon got all the hype in Game of Thrones. As the largest and most aggressive of Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragons, Drogon had far greater consequences to the story than his siblings, Viserion and Rhaegal. Named for Daenerys’s fallen husband, Khal Drogo, Drogon was the only one of her dragons to resist her attempts at enclosure during her time in Essos, rained fire on an important Lannister convoy that saw an army go down in flames, and even burned King’s Landing to the ground when Daenerys loses control. By the end of the series, Drogon’s fire proved hot enough to even destroy the Iron Throne, but as impressive as that is, there is a dragon that is even more powerful: the one who made the Iron Throne in the first place.

Known as Balerion the Black Dread, the dragon was a crucial piece in Aegon’s conquest of Westeros that led to the unity of the Seven Kingdoms. He was said to be the largest of all the Targaryen dragons, with a shadow that covered entire towns as he flew above them and a maw that could swallow aurochs and mammoths whole. Serving Aegon as a mount, the Targaryen conqueror burned down fleets of ships, executed armies, and, most famously, laid waste to the massive fortress of Harrenhal. Harrenhal still suffers from dilapidation and melted stone from Balerion’s attack. Compared to what Drogon was seen doing to King’s Landing, that’s a whole other level.

Balerion Is the Most Accomplished Dragon in Westeros

Dragons were not native to Westeros and were first brought to the continent by Aegon the Conqueror.
The dragons of Westeros slowly die out over the centuries, leaving none left by the time of Game of Thrones.
Daenerys Targaryen’s three children, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, were the first dragons in Westeros in centuries.

Even still, Balerion went on to many other great achievements in A Song of Ice and Fire. There was his aforementioned creation of the Iron Throne, melting the swords of all those who submitted to his master together, but most notable to his devastating level of power was Balerion’s triumph over other dragons in combat. Following Aegon Targaryen’s death, Balerion went on to serve other Targaryens and, during one row among the family, he slayed the dragon Quicksilver. The greatest harm he ever suffered in his life was from a mysterious wound sustained after disappearing from Westeros and returning. The wound was said to be nine feet long, still bleeding and smoking, but its source remains a mystery.

Whatever it was that happened to Balerion during his time away from Westeros, he was never so gravely injured again. In the end, the only thing powerful enough to take Balerion down was time itself, as the dragon eventually passed from old age. In the modern timeline in which Game of Thrones starts, his massive skull sits in the dungeons of the Red Keep. Yet, his legacy may live on in a different manner altogether, as his similarities to the modern Drogon led some to believe that the newer dragon was actually a reincarnation of Balerion himself.

There are certainly plenty of parallels between the two dragons, with the show’s telling of one creating the Iron Throne and the other destroying it being the biggest among them. Daenerys’s journey to reunite Westeros, much as her ancestor Aegon originally had, would make the reincarnation appropriate, but much like most of the magic in A Song of Ice and Fire, it may simply never be explained and left to the realm of imagination and mystery. Either way, the bare facts of Balerion’s time in Westeros make it clear that he has the most mythic reputation of any figure in the world’s expansive history. With HBO reaching into its well of prequels, there is a chance for viewers to see Balerion’s devastating deeds first-hand.

House of the Dragon Can Finally Showcase Westeros’s Dragons

Civil war breaks out between the Targaryens in House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood, but two members cast a huge shadow over the Dance of the Dragons.
House of the Dragon has the opportunity to explore the dragons of Westeros in a way that Game of Thrones never could. The flagship series was limited in what it could do with dragons because, during the time in which it took place, all of the dragons had died out over the years. However, since the history of Westeros is being explored in House of the Dragon, the dragons are already getting an even bigger spotlight. As the series prepares to delve into the “Dance of the Dragons,” the infamous Targaryen civil war for the throne, dragons are about to play a pivotal role in the history of Westeros.

The Dance of the Dragons gives the Game of Thrones franchise the opportunity to show dragons in all their glory, as the Green and the Black sects each use the magnificent creatures to their own ends. This will help the prequel series stand apart from its predecessor, with a diverse array of dragons for audiences to follow. As intriguing as House Targaryen’s story is, it is their dragons that audiences are really interested in. Even with Balerion gone, the dragons in the Game of Thrones prequel are certainly worth exploring in greater depth.

Dragons are the heart and soul of House Targaryen, and Balerion is the mightiest of them all. From the days of Aegon the Conqueror to the return of Daenerys’s dragons, Balerion will always be remembered as the greatest in the history of Westeros.